Even in defeat, was Eagles game Zach Wilson's best so far as a Jet?

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Zach Wilson started Sunday’s game 5-for-5, 10-for-11, and then 12-of-14 to finish the first half with a 138.4 passer rating, not far from the perfect 158.3 mark.

“It started out with Braxton’s great return to put us in good field position and give us momentum, and then it was just good execution,” Wilson said of the Jets’ hot start, which saw them score touchdowns on each of their first three possessions, the first five plays into the game after Berrios’ kick return to the Philly 21. “Just everyone getting going from the beginning; the coaches and Braxton got us in a good situation, and I didn’t need to put emphasis on it. That was the mindset all day today, take what the defense gives us, be smart and play within the offense.”

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The Jets have talked all year about needing to start fast, and finally, in Week 13, they did just that. The problem? Philly started just as fast, also scoring touchdowns on their first three drives, and once the Jets made it 18-14 with their third score…the offense disappeared.

Partially of their own volition, but partially because from the time Ryan Griffin’s touchdown made it 18-14 to the time the Jets got their next first down, more than 25 minutes had elapsed off the game clock, and more than 90 off the real-time clock.

“That was tough; I thought it was a good opportunity for us to practice how to come out and play well when we’ve been on the sidelines for a long time – control what we can control and keep our juices going, understand we have to take advantage of those – but the biggest issue was we had just three plays (in the third quarter),” Wilson said.

Indeed, the Eagles’ final drive of the first half started with 9:22 on the clock, and the Jets took their next snap with 19 seconds left, the Birds taking 9:03 off the clock and kicking a field goal to make it 24-18. The Jets took a knee, and then in the third quarter, two more long Eagles drives – one 8:32, one 6:13, both ending in three points – sandwiched a Gang Green three-and-out drive that lasted 1:10, the last 11 seconds of which were the punt play.

“To their credit they possessed the ball for three long drives in a row. That’s big,” head coach Robert Saleh said. “You’re looking at an hour and a half of real time where our offense was on the field for just a quick minute. That matters when it’s cold and you’re trying to stay juiced.”

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The Jets finally got back-to-back first downs on the second and third plays of their first fourth-quarter drive, but then chaos set in again: two straight incompletions came, and then on third down, Wilson’s intended pass for Jamison Crowder floated too high over the middle and was picked off by Marcus Epps.

“I stepped up in the pocket and I felt the guy was tight to Jamison to undercut it, and I tried to put some more speed on the ball to fit into a tight window, and it just slipped off my hand as I threw it,” Wilson said.

Another Philly field goal followed, but then, so did some positive reps for the Jets: six minutes of possession over the final 9:35, two drives that, while they didn’t result in any points, did give the team a chance to work on some situational gameplay in real time.

“We had a lot of opportunity to learn, especially at the end where us young guys had a chance to take advantage of a two-minute situation,” Wilson said, referencing the final Jets drive that started after an Eagles punt at the two-minute warning.

Add it all up, and, well, it’s not a win, but Saleh at least saw what he thinks was Wilson’s best game “working within the scheme” of the Jets’ offense.

“His footwork was awesome, his eyes and tempo and playing within the scheme, not trying to overanalyze or make defenses pay,” Saleh said.
“I thought this was by far his best game working progression and playing in the scheme. I wish we could have kept him in rhythm in the second half because it looked like he was going to have an explosive game.”

“There were definitely improvements, and I thought I made good decisions and was processing through guys,” Wilson added. “The next step comes in finding that balance, where I can use my playmaking ability but stay within the offense 90 percent of the time.”

One of those improvements? Wilson showed a little more finesse on many of this throws, the interception and a few others notwithstanding, as opposed to the fastballs he was throwing prior.

“Especially for the running backs; the one to Elijah (Moore) in the back of the end zone was because there were a lot of hands coming,” Wilson said, noting a pass Moore dropped one play before Griffin’s touchdown, “but the backs aren’t receivers. They have great hands, but I have to make it was easy as possible for them.”

There are no such things as moral victories in the NFL, and even Wilson said it’s okay to be frustrated after a game and wish performance was better win or lose – but it’s the progress along that way that, even if it doesn’t come in a win, builds for the future.

“When you get in the film room, you pull the individual plays that had progress and wonder how you can apply them and make them even better,” Wilson said. “We go through everything together; this hurts, but we have to look for the growth in it. We have to understand there are five games left, and we have to bring it and have each others’ backs, because it’ll be a dogfight every single week.”

And Wilson is confident that if they keep up the way they’re going, the Jets will eventually be the lead dogs in that fight more often than not.

“I think we can do great things, it just comes down to execution and doing all the little things right,” he said. “Especially with where we are as a young team, everyone has to hit the reset button on every play, do their job and try to be their best on every play. If we do that, you have to let the wins take care of themselves.”

Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN

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